


Adopted by Lin-Manuel Miranda

by monsteramongmgc



Category: Hamilton - Miranda, Hamilton - Miranda (Broadway Cast) RPF
Genre: Abuse, Adopted, Adopted Children, Adoption, Child Abuse, F/F, F/M, Foster Care, Growing Up, Hamilton References, High School, Music, Musicals, One Big Happy Family, Other, Past Child Abuse, im bad at tagging tbh, musical theater
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-27
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:47:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 14,954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26675392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/monsteramongmgc/pseuds/monsteramongmgc
Summary: "How does a bitch, orphan, daughter of a whore and a drug dealer, dropped in the middle of a forgotten spot in New York City, impoverished, in squalor, get adopted by the person who made a musical about a founding father?"
Relationships: Jasmine Cephas Jones/Anthony Ramos, Lin-Manuel Miranda/Vanessa Nadal
Comments: 2
Kudos: 26





	1. Chapter One

My eyes peeled open slowly as my alarm screeched annoyingly at 5:30 A.M. I slapped my hand around the table, trying to find the button to shut off my alarm. Once I hit it and the deafening sound ceased, I rolled out of my makeshift bed. I pulled on an old red v-neck t-shirt and slipped on some ancient, ratty blue jeans. I throw my medium length brown hair into a messy ponytail and slip on some hand-me-down Vans. I pocket my state-issued flip phone and shrug on my backpack that is falling apart. I stop at a small mirror on my way out of my room, glancing at my bruises; some of them yellow and fading, others purple and throbbing.

I quietly exit my room, making sure to shut the door slowly to ensure the creak is as silent as possible. I walk silently, pausing to step on the non-creaky floorboards. Reaching the worn-down wooden door that holds my escape to freedom, I open it slowly to ensure that there is no creak. Once outside the apartment, I do a little celebratory dance because I got out without waking anyone. I quickly walk down the hall to the elevator, pressing the button for the lobby.

On my way out of the building, I make a last minute decision to take the longer way to school; down Broadway street. I absolutely adore walking down Broadway because I love to see all of the lights and the signs for musicals. I also like to observe the people; watch them and guess how their life is going at this moment in time. The woman with the baby; I think she had him a few months ago and maybe it was a drunk, one night stand type of thing.

The guy talking angrily into his cellphone is- fuck, I fell after bumping into something; or should I say someone? A hand pops into view, offering to help me up. I take it and the person pulls me back into my feet. I am shocked to see Lin-Manuel Miranda in front of me. Wow, of all the days I could've met him, it just _had_ to be this day.

"Are you alright?"

"Huh?" I snap out of my thoughts at his voice, "Oh, yeah, I'm fine. I'm so sorry I ran into you."

"Don't sweat it, niña," Lin shoots me a kind smile. "I wasn't looking where I was going either."

"Are you _actually_ Lin-Manuel Miranda?" I question, a star struck look on my face.

He laughs and says, "Last time I checked, yes."

"I'm sorry, it's just... Hamilton has really helped me a lot and it's an honor to meet you," I confess to him.  
  
"Hey, it's alright, it's always nice to meet a fan," Lin consoles me. "Would you like a picture?"

"Yes!" I exclaim quickly, "... but, I don't have a phone."

"That's okay, do you have a Twitter?" Lin questions.

"Yeah," I answer, not getting what he was suggesting.

"We can take one on my phone and I'll post it so that you can get it later," Lin tells me his plan.

"That works, thank you so much!" I say excitedly. 

Lin pulls out his phone and stands next to me, crouching down closer to my height. We take a quick selfie and have a quick hug before I say thank you again and leave. I walk the rest of the way to school, only being a few minutes late to school. I get another detention and will get a beating when I get back to the apartment, but boy, was it worth it. I would take all the detentions and beatings to meet Lin-Manuel Miranda over and over again.

**Lin's P.O.V.**

After saying goodbye to that fan, I continue on my way home. I jump on the A train and hold onto the bar so that other people can sit. I get on my phone and tweet the picture of me and that girl, just like I had promised her.

@Lin_Manuel: Met this wonderful young lady today, hope to see you again!

*let's pretend there's a picture lol*

Looking at the picture again, I start to notice nasty bruises all over her. I start to wonder how she got them. I shake the image out of my mind before it consumes me. The train stops at my stop and I get off, heading towards my apartment building. I get inside and head up to my apartment, greeting my wife with a kiss when I get inside.

"V, I met this wonderful young lady today, but she had a lot of bruises on her and I can't help, but think something's wrong," I talk to Vanessa about the fan I had met.

"Lin, I'm sure she's okay," Vanessa responds. "Besides, I doubt you'll see her again."

"I guess you're right," I agree with her. "So, what's for dinner?"

"Tamales?" Vanessa suggests.

"Sounds good to me," I smile.

The rest of my day is spent with my family, the fan being the last thing on my mind.

**Jadyn's P.O.V.**

I get to the Crumb's apartment after serving my hour long detention, having taken the shorter way and still being 30 minutes late. I try to open the door quietly as to not attract attention to myself, but I am unsuccessful in my attempt. "You're late, you little shit!" Mr. Crumb screams at me, the veins in his neck popping out and his face turning as red as a tomato. He hops out of his seat and starts heading for me. I have two options; leave or book it towards my room. I choose the second one, but I am, once again, unsuccessful. Mr. Crumb catches me by the hair and pulls me closer to him. "Never do that again," He whispers hatefully into my ear, his breath stinking of alcohol. Of course, he's drunk off his ass.

"I'm sorry, sir," I choke out, trying my hardest to conceal my tears. He throws me to the ground.

"Get out of my sight!" He yells. I scramble to my feet and run off to my run-down room, throwing my bag to the ground and lying on my bed. I grab my old iPod Touch and check Twitter, seeing Lin had actually posted the picture of us. I smile at it and save it to my iPod. I wipe the tears off my face and close my eyes, dozing off to sleep.


	2. Chapter Two

My alarm woke me up at 6 A.M. so that I could get ready for school. I shut off the alarm before it woke anyone else up and start getting dressed, although I had no plans of actually going to school. Today just felt like a sad day and I have always thought that mental health is more important than school; so my plan for today was to take the ten dollars I had saved and go to the coffee shop for a bit, then Central Park afterwards.

I slip on an old purple shirt and slide into some jeans that were ripped, but were not supposed to be ripped. After pulling on some beat up Vans, I grab my money, iPod and headphones before quietly sneaking out of the apartment. Once I'm successfully out of the apartment, I do a little victory dance and continue walking to the elevator where I head down to the lobby. I walk down the street, trying to get to Broadway. There's a coffee shop that I really like there, so that's where I'm going.

On the way there, I passed so many interesting people. There was a guy wildly gesturing to a small baby and another guy near him shaking his head in disappointment. I couldn't even guess what was happening there, it was so weird. Some girl had thrown her phone across the street and then angrily walked after it, acting almost as if the phone chucked itself across the street. I reach the coffee shop, Ground Central Coffee, and shake my head, trying to get those people out of my mind.

I buy myself a coffee and sit down at an empty table, taking out my iPod. Luckily, there's free WiFi here so that means I can use my iPod. I was casually scrolling through Twitter, sipping my coffee when someone cleared their throat to get my attention. I look up from my iPod and see Lin-Manuel Miranda, again. "Excuse me, is this seat taken?" Lin smiles, grasping the seat across from me.

I debate on whether I should say yes or no, but soon choose the latter. "No, it's not taken," I inform him.

Lin sits down with his coffee and I go back to my iPod. "I just met you a few weeks ago, right? Jadyn, was it?" Lin questions, a curious look on his face.

"Yeah, it was the best day ever," I tell him. _Even though I was beaten that day_ , I thought.

"What happened to your eye?" Lin breaks me out of my thoughts. _Shit, I forgot to put makeup on_.

"Oh, uh, I just fell and hit it pretty hard," I lie to him. If he finds out, I'll just be sent to another abusive home and I don't want that.

"Okay," Lin says, holding the word out as if he doesn't believe me. "Shouldn't you be at school?"

"Yeah," I shrug, "I didn't feel like going today, so I decided to come here instead."

"Won't your parents be mad?" Lin questions.

"I don't have parents," I say bluntly.

"You must have someone to care for you," Lin pushes on, "a foster family?"

"Yeah, like they care about me," I snort, then quickly realize I'm giving him hints and I don't want that.

"What do you mean?" Lin looks concerned.

"Nothing, it's nothing," I quickly backtrack, not wanting him to get suspicious.

Lin and I sat at the coffee shop together for another hour getting to know each other. At about 8 A.M., Lin tells me he has to go, but before he leaves, he gives me his phone number, and tells me to text him if I ever need help. I wait for another ten minutes after Lin left to leave. I make my way to Central Park and sit on a bench when I get there. I have always loved Central Park; a foster family took me once and I fell in love with it. It takes forever to get here from the Crumb's apartment, but I still try to come often. While looking at the beautiful scenery, I think about my life, specifically my parents.

I was taken from my parents at three years old, so I don't remember them very much. My grandma took care of me for the next two years and then she passed away. I still miss her to this day, but I know she's looking over me. After she had passed, my parents were still not able to take care of me, or maybe they didn't want me, so I was put into foster care. My first family was actually amazing, but after three months, I was ripped away and put into a new home because their fostering license had expired. They said they would get me back, but they never even tried. My next home used me as a slave; they made me cook, clean, and serve them. My social worker came for a surprise visit and saw me home alone, cleaning the floor with a toothbrush; my toothbrush, to be specific. My life kept going downhill from there.

To this day, I still don't know why I was taken from my parents. Were they abusive? Did they have a drug problem? Were they neglectful? Were they not ready? Did they just not want me? All I know about them is that I have my mom's hair color and my dad's eye color. It's been ten years since I was taken from them, making me 13 years old, and I believe I'm old enough to know why I'm not living with them anymore.

I shake my head, leaving those thoughts behind and looking at my iPod. My eyes nearly pop out of my head when I see what time it is. I have to be at the apartment in five minutes. I panic for a second before jumping off the bunch and booking it in the direction of their apartment. I whip around a corner and crash right into someone, resulting in me on the ground. I look up to see who, or what, I had knocked into and find out it was Lin-Manuel Miranda _again_ ; why do I keep running into him?!

"You really need to start looking where you're going," Lin chuckles, helping me off of the ground.

"I have to go," I say hurriedly, trying to push past him.

"Slow down, Speedy Gonzales," Lin says, "what's the rush?"

"I have to be home at four," I inform him. "Please move."

"So what if you're a few minutes late," Lin shrugs off my problem.

"They'll kill me!" I exclaim, a frightened look on my face. I look at the time and see that it's now 4:06 P.M.

"No they won't, don't joke like that," Lin scolds me. I just shake my head, plopping down next to the wall, and starting to sob. Lin kneels next to me, "Hey, hey, what's wrong?"

"I don't wanna go back to them, I don't wanna," I keep mumbling, "I don't wanna, I don't wanna."

"Shh, why? Who's them?" Lin sits next to me, putting his arm around me in an attempt to comfort me.

"They'll hurt me! They'll hurt me even more than normal!" I sob, "My, my foster family, they hate me!"

"Hey, hey," Lin tries to get my attention, "calm down, you're not going back there."

"Where would I go then?" I look up at Lin with wide, innocent eyes.

"My wife's a lawyer, she could help," Lin suggests. "Come with me, let us help you."

I take a split second, thinking about one of the biggest decisions I will probably ever have to make. "Okay," I agree. 

Lin stands up and offers me a hand, helping me up and leading me to taxi. We both get into the back and he tells the driver the address. Lin gets on his phone, probably texting his wife to tell her about me. I sit in silence the entire ride, not wanting to think about what would happen if I had to go back. When we reach their apartment in Washington Heights, we get out and Lin pays the driver before we walk in and up to their apartment. We walk into their apartment and I'm met by a woman, who I assumed was his wife, and a child.

"Jadyn, this is my wife, Vanessa," Lin points to the woman, "and my son, Sebastian."

"Hi," I say, giving them an awkward wave. Vanessa puts Sebastian down and tells him to go play. Sebastian does as he's told and Lin and Vanessa take me to their living room, where we all sit down.

"Could you tell us everything your foster family has done to you?" Vanessa questions.

I sigh, looking down and beginning my sad story, "I've been in their care for about six months. They were okay at first, but then something changed. It started with my foster father; he would slap me if I said something he didn't like, burn me if I had shaken up his beer on accident, and much, much more. My foster mother would just watch him do it, she would never stop him. Soon after he started, their son would join in. He would punch and kick me if I walked to close to him in the hallways at school or if I even looked in his direction. He's the one that gave me this black eye."

"Do you have anymore bruises?" Lin asks, a concerned look on his face. I nod my head yes. "Where?"

I lift up my shirt to show them the bruises littering my stomach and back and I hear an audible gasp come from both of them. I pull it back down once I think they've seen enough. "Lin, go call CPS," Vanessa orders Lin. He takes out his phone and leaves the room. "We're gonna get you out of that house if it's the last thing we ever do." Vanessa promises me, pulling me into a side hug. I give her a small smile.

"CPS will be here soon," Lin informs us a few minutes after he had left. A whole half an hour passed before CPS arrived.

We inform them of the abuse that has been going on in my foster home and show them all of my bruises and scars. They decide that the Crumbs are no longer fit to foster and they will put me in a new home. After that decision, Lin tells me to leave the room for a minute and that he'll come get me when they're done talking. I don't know what they're talking about and it's making me anxious. Lin comes to get me a few minutes later and they tell me that we're going to the Crumb's apartment to get my stuff. I leave out the door with my caseworker, Mr. Holoman, and the other one that came, not expecting Lin and Vanessa to follow us out.

We get to the run down building and walk up the stairs all the way to their apartment. The walls inside the apartment building are ragged and torn; one wall even had a hole in it from someone who had kicked it. We get to the apartment and I tell them to stay in the hallway; I don't want them to witness Mr. Crumb going psycho on me. I try to open the door, but it's sadly locked so I knock instead. Mr. Crumb's grubby, old face opens the door and, without noticing the group of people behind me, he grabs my arm roughly, pulls me into the apartment and yells, "Where the fuck have you been?!"

"Around," I reply smartly. Mr. Crumb slaps me across the face with as much force as he can muster. 

"You little piece of shit! You know you're supposed to be here by four!" Mr. Crumb throws me to the ground and starts kicking me in the stomach. Then he moves to my back, my legs, my thighs, just about anywhere. Eventually, he gets tired and walks away, but not without stomping on my left arm. I hear a crack as soon as he stomps on it and I just _know_ it is broken. I shakily stand up and as I do so, a knock sounds at the door. I slowly walk over to it, loosely holding my left arm as to not hurt it, and open the door, revealing the police, Mr. Holoman, Lin, and Vanessa. The police go off to find Mr. and Mrs. Crumb and Mr. Holoman, Lin, and Vanessa try to comfort me. 

"I need to go to the hospital," I choke out through tears, "Mr. Crumb stomped on my arm, there was a crack."

"Okay," Mr. Holoman says, then turns to Lin and Vanessa. "Could you guys take her? I have things to finish out here and I'll also grab her belongings."

"Yes, of course," Lin answers him. They lead me out the door and down the creaky stairs, out the door, and into the backseat of their car. Sebastian's next to me in his car seat, playing with a toy train, and I smile at his innocence. Vanessa drives us to the hospital, luckily the nearest one was only five minutes away. Vanessa park the car and gets Sebastian out of his car seat while Lin helps me get out without causing any pain to my arm. We get to the waiting room area and I help Lin and Vanessa fill out the papers that they need while Sebastian plays with his train on the floor.

I hate being at hospitals. I can't stand the white walls, the overly nice nurses, the doctors that beat around the bush, all of it is truly horrible. We waited for about an hour after Lin had given the receptionist the papers back for someone to call my name. They led me to a checkup kinda room and I sit down on that weird paper stuff, Lin sitting down in the parent chair. The nurse tells us the doctor will be in soon and leaves. I look around the room, zoning out, and jump when the door opens and the doctor walks in.

"Hello, I'm Dr. Walbury," She says, sitting down in the spinny chair. "What seems to be the problem?"

"My arm," I gesture towards my left arm with my right one. "I think it's broken."

"Alright, let me see," Dr. Walbury commands, hold out her hand. I hold my arm out to her and she gently takes a hold of it. "Tell me if it hurts," She tells me before she starts pressing down in places.

Immediately, I yell, "That hurts!"

"Scale of one to ten, how bad does it hurt? One being barely and ten being badly," Dr. Walbury explains.

"Ten, it's a whole fucking ten," I spit out through clenched teeth. 

"Alright, well, I think it's broken, but we're gonna do some x-rays just to make sure," Dr. Walbury informs Lin of her plans. She takes us to another room and has me lie on a table. She gets the machine ready and tells me to stay very still. I do as told and it was over quickly. I sit up and go sit next to Lin while Dr. Walbury left to collect the scans. She comes back a few minutes later and announces that my arm is, for sure, broken. "What color would you like for your cast?" Dr. Walbury asks, gathering all of the medical equipment she needs.

"Blue, please," I answer her, waiting patiently. She comes back with all of the wrap and stuff. She pops the bone back into place, which hurts horribly, and puts the harder part of the cast on my arm, wrapping it in a blue wrap afterwards. She tells me how to care for it and to not get it wet, all of the usual stuff. After that, we were able to leave. We met Vanessa, Sebastian, and Mr. Holoman in the waiting room and I go over to them while Lin signs me out. "So, where am I being put now?" I sigh, flopping down next to Mr. Holoman.

"Well, actually, while your arm was being wrapped and whatnot," Mr. Holoman starts, "I was talking to Vanessa here, and she said that her and Lin would love to take you in, if you want."

"Really?" I look at them for confirmation. They grin and nod their heads. "I'd love to!"

"Perfect," Mr. Holoman says. "Here's your stuff, I grabbed everything from your room."

"Thank you," I tell him, grabbing the backpack and putting over my shoulder. Lin grabbed the other slightly bigger bag. 

"Are you ready to go?" Vanessa asks me, holding a tired Sebastian in her arms.

"Yeah," I answer her. "Bye, Mr. Holoman, thank you for everything."

"No problem, Jay," Mr. Holoman gives me a hug before he leaves.

I follow Lin and Vanessa out to their car where Vanessa puts Sebastian into his car seat and I get in next to him. Lin gets in the passenger seat and Vanessa gets in the driver's seat, starting the car. I look out the window the entire way to their apartment in Washington Heights. When we get there, Lin takes me to their apartment while Vanessa gets Sebastian out. He shows me where I'll be sleeping and leaves me to unpack and get comfortable. I look around the room; the walls are a nice cream color, there's a window that has a fire escape across from the door, there's a desk in front of the window, a dresser next to the door, and a full sized bed in the middle on the right wall. The left wall has a small closet that I'll probably use for dresses and dress clothes. I fold all of my clothes, which weren't many, and put them into the dresser. I plug my iPod charger in the outlet next to the bed and stuff my bags into the closet. The bed has soft, white sheets, and a big, fluffy, white comforter on top. After checking out the room, I leave it and head down the hallway into the kitchen and living room. 

"Is pizza okay for dinner?" Vanessa asks from behind me, ultimately scaring the shit out of me.

"Of course," I tell her after getting over my mini heart attack. 

The pizza arrives about half an hour later and we sit down at the kitchen table and eat together, just like a family would. When I'm done, I ask to be excused and upon being granted, I put my plate in the sink, tell them goodnight and go to my room. I change into some pajamas and check the time on my iPod; 9:30 P.M. I usually don't go to sleep until around 1 A.M., but the events of today really tired me out and I head into a peaceful sleep.


	3. Chapter Three

My eyes slowly peeled open as I woke up, stretching my arms and yawning to get the sleep out of me. I sit up in my bed and rub my eyes, successfully getting the crusties out of my eyelashes. I throw the comforter off of me and slowly drag myself off of the bed, heading towards the door. I walk out of my room and find myself going towards the main room. The main room is an open floor plan that consists of the living room, kitchen, and dining room. I make my way towards the kitchen area and sit on one of the bar stools next to Lin, who was drinking his coffee and scrolling through Twitter. Vanessa was at the stove, making some eggs.

"Buenos días, niña," Lin says to me, looking up from his phone.

"Uh, what?" I furrow my eyebrows.

"It's means good morning, girl or child or little girl," Lin translates for me.

"Oh, the most Spanish I know is, like, uno dos tres," I say, "and this is coming from someone who was, like, Dora's number one fan."

"Well, we're gonna have to fix that," Lin tells me, "the entire family can speak Spanish."

"Okay, that'd actually be so cool," I smile. "Hey, what time is it?"

"Oh, about nine in the morning," Lin says, casually.

"What?!" I shoot up out of my seat. "I was supposed to be at school nearly two fucking hours ago!"

"Jadyn, watch your mouth and calm down," Lin says sternly, "we pulled you out of there, you're going to a school closer to us."

"I'm so sorry for cursing, I didn't mean to," I apologize to Lin and Vanessa.

"You're alright, cariño," Vanessa speaks up for the first time since I entered the room, "just don't do it again, okay?"

"I won't, I promise," I assure them.

"Good," Vanessa responds, setting down two plates of eggs and bacon in front of me and Lin. She grabs another two and calls for Sebastian. Sebastian comes running in and climbs onto a bar stool next to me. Vanessa sets his plate down for him and sits next to Lin with her plate. 

"So, what school will I be going to then?" I question through a mouthful of eggs.

"Niña, please swallow before speaking," Lin scolds halfheartedly. "You'll be going to our old high school, Hunter College High School."

"Is that, like, a smart people school? I'm not a smart people," I protest a little.

"Don't say that about yourself, cariño, you're plenty smart," Vanessa says. "As long as you don't skip school, do your homework, and study, your grades should be fine."

"Okay," I back down. 

"When you're done eating, put your plate in the sink and go sit on the couch," Vanessa instructs me, "we want to talk to you. Don't worry, you're not in trouble."

"Alright," I let her know I heard her. 

About a quarter of the way through my plate, I start feeling sick and stand up to go scrape the rest into the trash and put my plate in the sink. I can feel Lin and Vanessa's eyes on me as I do this, no doubt watching me with sympathy. I ignore it and walk into the living room area, plopping down on the couch. To pass some time, I turn the TV on and scroll through the channels, settling on Victorious. I get through half an episode before they come in and sit next to me on the couch. Lin grabs the remote and turns the volume down so that I won't get distracted while we are talking.

"We've never parented a teenager before, so you're gonna have to patient with us, okay?" Vanessa starts off.

"Yeah, of course," I agree.

"We came up with a few rules for you that we thought were important," Lin states, handing me a piece of paper. "We wrote them down so that it wouldn't take us awhile to talk because we have to go shopping for you today."

I take a look at the paper. It says:

1\. Keep your room clean.

2\. No grades lower than a B.

3\. Getting in trouble at school will get in you in trouble at home.

4\. Do what you're told the first time and always do your chores.

5\. Homework comes before anything else.

6\. Curfew is 8 on weekdays, 9 on weekends.

7\. Be in bed at 10 on weekdays, 11 on weekends.

8\. Always tell the truth.

9\. No swearing, skipping school, illegal activities, etc.

"What're you going to do if I break any of these?" I ask cautiously, my mind clouded of memories from the Crumbs.

"Depending on what you do, we'll ground you, take away privileges," Vanessa tells me. "We will never hit you, _ever_."

" _Never_ , niña," Lin confirms firmly.

"Okay," I let out a breath. "When am I starting this new school?"

"Within the next week," Lin informs me. "Tomorrow, you'll take an entrance exam to see if you can go there."

"What?!" I shoot out of me seat. "I don't have time to study! What's on it?! I'm going to fail!"

"Niña, calm down," Lin puts a hand on my shoulder. "Come on, breathe with me. In, out, in, out. There you go."

I slowly calm down my breathing, the small panic attack going away. "It's all stuff you've been taught before," Vanessa assures me. "Are you calm now?"

I nod my head, choking out a small, "Yes."

"Good," Lin and Vanessa wrap me in a tight hug for a few minutes before letting go. "Now, go get dressed, we're leaving in fifteen minutes."

"Okay," I obey, turning towards my room. 

I open one of the drawers in my dresser and take out an outfit consisting of an old, black v-neck, some patched-up blue jeans that are way too small now, and, of course, my holey, beat up vans. I slide into the outfit, struggling to put the shirt on because of my broken arm. Ignoring the pain in my left arm, I take out some mascara and swipe it across my eyelashes. I put the mascara back into my little makeup bag and walk out to the living room, a dressed Lin and Vanessa waiting for me.

"Um," I speak up quietly, alerting them of my presence, "could I have some medicine for my arm, please?"

"Of course, niña," Lin goes to find the medicine the doctor had prescribed for the pain. He comes back with a pill bottle in his hand and starts walking over to me. I back away, shaking my head, memories of a previous foster home clouding my head. I will _never_ take pills, _never_. Not after that time.

My breathing gets heavier and I start seeing black spots. I can hear voices around me, but I cannot hear what they are saying. Eventually, everything goes black.

 ** _flashback_** *****TRIGGER WARNING*****

_"You little money waster!" Mrs. Gonzalez screams at me from across the room, throwing whatever she can get her hands on at me. "Why won't you just die?!"_

_I cower in fear in the corner, hoping this will be over soon. I whimper as another book get whipped at me and the corner hits me right in the head. I get a little dizzy after that and prepare for more, but nothing comes. I take my head out of my hands and look around. Mrs. Gonzalez is gone. Where did she go? My breathing gets heavier, a panic attack on the verge. A few minutes pass and I start to relax, maybe she's done. I get out of the little ball I had myself in in the corner. When I look back to where Mrs. Gonzalez was, she's right in front of me, a bottle of pills in her hand._

_She grabs my arm harshly, dragging me over to the couch where she roughly pushes me down. I cower in fear and cover my face when she lets go of my arm. She opens the pill bottle and smiles evilly as she dumps some into her hand. She sets the pill bottle down and using her now empty hand, takes my arms away from my face and shoves as many pills as possible into my mouth. She covers my mouth with her hand, my only option is to swallow. She repeats the process until the whole bottle is gone, then she just leaves me there to die._

_Although, I can hardly move, I roll onto my stomach and shove my fingers down my throat, trying to get myself to throw up the pills. I get a lot of the pills out of my system, but I'm not sure if it's enough. When I start dry-heaving, I know I can no longer throw up and lie down, accepting my fate. I slowly lose myself to the darkness of death._

**_flashback over_ ***TRIGGER WARNING OVER*****

I slowly become conscious again. My eyes open slightly, trying to adjust to the light. I notice that I'm safe; I'm still with Lin and Vanessa, but I'm on the couch now. "What happened?" My voice sounds groggy, as if I've been sleeping for a hundred years like sleeping beauty.

"You had a panic attack and passed out when I came back with the pills," Lin explains to me, pulling me into a tight hug. "I'm so glad you're okay."

"I'm sorry I worried you guys," I tell them.

"Nonsense," Vanessa brushes it off, "you can't control panic attacks."

"Can I ask why it happened?" Lin questions inquisitively.

"I had a flashback," I explain. "Um, when you, uh, brought the pills out, I saw them and I, uh, remembered the last time I had pills."

"Do you want to talk about it, novia?" Vanessa asks, a concerned look on her face. I look at both of them and think for a minute. I trust them a lot, but am I ready to tell them? They'll find out eventually. Unless, they give me up. What if they give me up after I tell them? They wouldn't do that though, they're too nice. I decide to tell them about the flashback.

"Um, when I was ten, I was staying with a mean woman named Mrs. Gonzalez," I start. "She hated me for some reason and, uh, one day, she was just, yelling and screaming and throwing things at me and she wouldn't stop, but then she did and I thought she was done. She wasn't done. She came back with a bottle of pills in her hand and dragged me to the couch. Then she opened the pills and started shoving them down my throat until they were all gone. Then she left me to die. The only reason I didn't is because I was smart enough to make myself throw up."

"Oh, niña, I'm so sorry you had to go through that," Lin and Vanessa squish me into a group hug.

"It's fine," I smile, "I'm with some good people now."

"Do you still want to go shopping?" Vanessa asks me.

"Of course," I tell her. "Can I have that medicine now?"

"Yes," Lin laughs, giving me one of the pills and a glass of water. I put the pill into my mouth and swallow it down with a swig of water.

"Alright, autobots," I say after the pill is swallowed, "let's roll out."

Lin laughs at me.


	4. Chapter Four

We left for the mall immediately after I had taken the pill, stopping to drop Sebastian off at Lin's parents house. We were briefly introduced before Lin ushered us out the door. Once in the car, Vanessa asks, "What store would you like to go to?"

"I don't know, I've never really gone to a store," I answer her with a shrug, "all of my clothes have been hand-me-downs."

"Okay, we'll go to a few stores then," Vanessa responds, pulling into the mall parking lot.

"Actually, I heard Hot Topic sells Harry Potter stuff," I speak in almost a whisper. "Could we, maybe, go there?"

"Of course, niña!" Lin declares. "You like Harry Potter?"

"Yeah, I've read all of the books," I answer with pride, "I'm a slytherin, according to pottermore."

"Me too! High five!" Lin cries out, turning in his seat to stick his hand out. I grin widely and slap my hand against his.

Lin and Vanessa guide me into the mall and into Hot Topic. They laugh at the pure joy and ecstasy on my face. Lin pushes me further into the store and tells me to just go crazy. We spend quite some time and money in Hot Topic.

After Hot Topic, Vanessa takes me to a store called Rue21 where I get a few pairs of jeans and some shirts. We visit a few more stores, none of them taking longer than 20 minutes. We load the heavy bags into the trunk of the car and get into the car. As Vanessa starts driving, I notice we aren't going the way we came back. I think nothing of it until she pulls into the parking lot of an Apple store. "Uh, why are we here?" I ask as Lin and Vanessa start getting out of the car.

"We're getting you a phone and a laptop," Lin comes around and opens my door for me, although he doesn't have to.

"I don't need either of those, we can just go get Sebastian and head back to the apartment," I dismiss their thoughts of getting me either items.

"Niña, you will need a laptop for school work and a phone so that we are able to contact you when you are not home," Lin argues with me.

"Whatever," I huff angrily, crossing my arms. Although I am stubborn, Lin is much more stubborn than I am and it would just be a losing battle to argue with him. I don't want them to spend more money on me.

"Watch the attitude, niña," Lin chides. I discreetly roll my eyes and follow them into the store. There's so many expensive electronics in here, I feel like I'm gonna break something. "What phone would you like?"

"I don't care," I answer with a shrug of my shoulders.

Lin sighs and picks out an iPhone 7, grabbing a MacBook Air, and heading to the checkout area. I tune out the price as they ring up the items. I know it's a lot, but if I actually knew the price, I would throw a fit. We leave the store after picking out a phone case and go to get Sebastian from Lin's parent's apartment. Once again, we were there for a split moment because CPS was scheduled to come to the apartment to deem it child safe. When we get to the apartment, Lin sends me to my room to change into some of my new clothes.

I set the bags that I was carrying down on my bed and search through them for the perfect thing to wear. I decide on a short-sleeved, white shirt with a cactus in the top left corner and a pair of black high-waisted jeans. Lin brings the rest of the shopping bags in my room after I get dressed and helps me put them away into the dresser and closet. Lin sets the MacBook on my desk and then ushers me out to the living room with my new phone in his hand. We sit down on the couch and he helps me set my phone up while we wait for CPS. Vanessa sits on the floor in front of the coffee table, looking over some papers for something, and Sebastian is on the floor playing with his trains and occasionally looking up to watch Chuggington.

"So, now we need to set up an Apple ID for you," Lin says, tapping a few things on my phone. "Do you have an email?"

"Yeah, it's jay.isla@gmail.com," I inform him. Lin types it in and hands me the phone to create my password. When I create it, I hand it back to him to fill out the rest of the details.

"Now, I linked a debit card to your account, _but_ I would like you to ask before buying anything, okay?" Lin questions sternly.

"Yes, sir," I salute him. Lin chuckles at my weird behaviour and hands me my phone. As I admire my new phone, a knock sounds at the door and Vanessa goes to answer it.

CPS was finally here. Lin and Vanessa shook their hands and showed them around the place first. Then, CPS talked to them privately, probably asking them all of the routine questions. After talking to them, CPS came to talk to me alone.

"So, Jadyn, how do you like it here?" One of the workers questioned, a pencil in one hand, a clipboard in the other.

"I love it here," I start, "I've only been here for less than a day and they've treated me better than any of my other foster homes."

"How is it that they treat you?" The other one asks.

"They treat me with kindness. They don't hit me for the simplest of things. I'm allowed to eat three meals a day here. I can shower for more than 3 minutes and use the hot water," I rant for a minute. "They treat me like an actual human being."

"You're sure you want to stay here?" The one with the clipboard asks.

"Yes, ma'am," I answer respectfully, although I wanted nothing more than to show how annoyed I was at these stupid questions.

"That is all we have for you," They give me a smile and go to talk to Lin and Vanessa alone again.

CPS leaves after talking to Lin and Vanessa, which could only be a good thing, considering they didn't take me with them. Lin and Vanessa come back into the living room about a minute after the departure of CPS, looking as excited as a dog awaiting a treat. I look at them with a raised eyebrow, as if saying 'what're you waiting for?'.

"We've been approved!" They burst excitedly at the same time. I squeal, leaping off the coach and dashing towards them to give them a huge hug. Sebastian, although he has no idea what just happened, squeals in happiness and joins us for a big family hug.

"Let's go out to dinner for a celebration!" Lin declares. "Where do you want to go, niña?"

"Can we go get pizza, please?" I inquire. "I'm not one for fancy restaurants."

"Of course, cariño," Vanessa smiles, pulling me into her for a side hug. "What pizza place would you like to go to?"

"Can we go to Pizza Hut?" I ask, "I've had them once and I loved it, plus they follow me on Twitter!"

Lin laughs at my over enthusiastic explanation, "They follow me too, niña."

"Yeah, but you're famous, anciano," I stick my tongue out at him, "I'm not."

"Alright, enough you two," Vanessa breaks up our fake argument with a smile, "Jadyn, go put your shoes on."

I nod and go do as she says, putting on a pair of checkered slip-on vans before returning to the living room where everyone is waiting. "Alright, autobots, roll out," I order, pointing to the door.

When we get into the elevator, Lin looks at me. "I can't _believe_ you called me _old man_ in _Spanish_ ," Lin emphasizes his shock.

"What's your point, anciano?" I challenge him.

"Oh, you're gonna get it!" Lin threatens, moving closer to me and starting to tickle me.

"Lin, staHAHAHAHAp!" I laugh obnoxiously, "I'm soHAHAHArry! You're not HAHAHAHA that old!"

I continue to giggle and laugh for a few more floors before Vanessa stops it. "Thank you, Vanessa," I brush my outfit off dramatically before glaring at Lin. "If you ever do that again, I will personally make sure you never see the light of day again."

"Okay, okay," Lin puts his hands up in mock surrender. I smile triumphantly, although I know he is not taking my threat seriously. The elevator dings and we exit, heading towards the car.  
  
  


_I love it here so much, please don't take me away. Please..._


	5. Chapter Five

"Lin, I'm not ready to take this exam," I nervously chew on the bottom of my lip after confessing my worries.

"You'll do just fine, niña," Lin reassured for about the 50th time today, "it's all stuff you've learned already."

Lin holds the door to the school open for me and follows me inside where we're met by one of the secretaries.

"Lin-Manuel, what a surprise! Didn't think I'd be seeing you here in quite a few years!" The secretary, Mrs. Whiteberry, exclaims upon seeing Lin and I walk through the entrance. "And, who might you be, young lady?"

"Uh, my name's Jadyn," I introduce myself.

"She's staying with me for the time being, so I have her scheduled to take the entrance exam today," Lin explains to Mrs. Whiteberry.

"Oh, you're the new student!" Mrs. Whiteberry gushes, "Follow me." She gestures towards her with her hand.

I follow behind her down a long hallway until we reach a door on the left. She opens the door and leads me in. It looks like an empty classroom, with a packet and pencil on one of the desks.

"You will be taking your exam in here," Mrs. Whiteberry explains, "take your time, there is no time limit, and if you need anything, don't be afraid to ask."

"Yes, ma'am, thank you," I answer her as I sit down at the desk with the pencil and packet.

"Good luck," Mrs. Whiteberry wishes me, a kind smile etched across her face, as she leaves the room.

I sigh, turning my attention to the horrid packet in front of me. I flip to the English section first in order to get the easy part out of the way. After an hour of working, I reach the section I dreaded the most; the math section. I did all that I could and filled in random answers for the questions I didn't know how to do. If anything is going to stop me from getting into this school, it's my math skills. I get up from the desk, grab my exam and pencil, and head out the door. I walk down the hallway and reach the office entrance.

"I did my best," I tell Mrs. Whiteberry as I hand her my exam.

"I'm sure I'll see you going here in the next week," Mrs. Whiteberry smiles at me. "Have a good day, sweetheart."

"You, too," I tell her.

"When will we know if she got in?" Lin asks before we leave.

"You'll get a letter in the mail within a week," Mrs. Whiteberry informs him.

"Thank you, Mrs. Whiteberry, it was nice seeing you again," Lin thanks her.

"No problem, Lin-Manuel," Mrs. Whiteberry smiles, "it was nice seeing you too and nice meeting you, Jadyn."

"It was nice to meet you too, Mrs. Whiteberry," I tell her before Lin and I walk out the door.

"Was it as bad as you thought it would be?" Lin asks when we get into the car.

"Kind of, but also not," I try my hardest to explain.

"What was the hardest?" Lin questions. Geez, what is this? Interrogation time?

"The math, most definitely," I answer with no hesitation, "I've never been good at math."

"We can get you a tutor," Lin suggests, starting the car after buckling up.

"No." I state firmly. "Absolutely not."

"Jay, we can afford it," Lin tries to reason with me.

"I'm not worried about the money, Lin," I tell him, "I don't want to be seen as the stupid kid just because I need a math tutor."

"Oh, niña, you won't be seen as the stupid kid," Lin tries reasoning again, "lots of kids struggle with math. I'll make you a deal; we won't get you a tutor unless your math grade starts slipping, okay?"

"I guess," I huff, rolling my eyes and turning my attention to the window.

"Niña, please don't roll your eyes at me," Lin chides, "that's disrespectful."

"Sorry, Lin," I apologize, looking over at him. He's staring straight ahead at the road, both hands on the wheel.

"I'm going to the theatre to check up on everything, you can either come with me or I can drop you off at home," Lin informs me, glancing over at me, "it's your choice."

"Will you drop me off at the apartment? I kinda want to be alone right now," I give him an answer.

"Alright, Vanessa will be home around four and Seb is at Abuela and Abuelo's house," Lin tells me.

"Okay," I say quietly, glancing at the time. It's about 2:50 PM right now. By the time we get there, it'll be 3, so that gives me an hour alone before Vanessa gets home with Sebastian.

Lin pulls into the parking lot of their apartment building and pulls up to the front of the building. He reaches over and gives me a small hug before letting me out of the car. I head into the building, turning around and giving Lin a small wave before disappearing inside. I make the trek up to their apartment and go straight to the guest bedroom once there. I refuse to call any of this mine because I won't be here long enough for any of it to be mine. I sit on my bed and stare into space, letting the thoughts take over.

** ***TRIGGER WARNING*** **

_You're a burden on them. All you do is cause problems. They don't love you. Who could love something like you? Lin and Vanessa deserve better than you. They could never love you like they love Sebastian. You're too stupid for them. Just give up already. Just give up. You don't deserve to be in their home. You don't deserve to be alive. Your birth parents didn't even want you. Who could want you? Just give up. Give up. GIVE UP. GIVE UP. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE._

** ***TRIGGER WARNING OVER*** **

"STOP!" I scream, clutching my head as if cradling it will stop the thoughts, tearing streaming freely down my face. "I DON'T WANT TO!"

Vanessa comes running into the room, although I'm in such a distraught state that I don't realize she's there until her arms are wrapped around me and she's whispering sweet nothings in my ear in order to calm me down. "It's okay, sweet girl, everything is alright," Vanessa shushes me, effectively calming me until my tears are all dried up and my sniffling has stopped. The thoughts are done now. "Would you like to talk about it, novia?"

I go against everything my mind tells me. "I-I've been through so many homes in my time in foster care and nothing has ever felt as permanent as this one, but I get these thoughts stuck in my head, telling me that no one will ever love me and that I don't deserve anything and that I should die and sometimes they tear me down and almost win." I explain to Vanessa, staring off into space.

"I understand that, novia," Vanessa says. "Sometimes the brain can be very misleading and it can lead you into the wrong direction and make you believe the wrong things. Novia, when I tell you that we truly do love you so much, I mean it. I mean it with my entire being, okay?"

I nod my head, not trusting myself to speak, feeling more tears coming.

"I'm gonna talk to Lin and we're gonna talk about having you see a therapist," Vanessa informs me, "I know you may not want to, but they can be very helpful, so you have to at least try it, okay?"

Once again, I nod, growing tired from my panic attack.

"Take a nap, novia," Vanessa gives me a small smile and pats my head, "I'll wake you for dinner." She gives me a hug and heads towards the door, looking at me with a look of admiration one last time before closing it.

I get under the covers of my bed, falling asleep almost as soon as my head touches the pillow. All that crying really tired me out, I guess. _Maybe I'm wrong for once, maybe this will be my forever home._


	6. Chapter Six

"Jay, niña, wake up," A familiar voice says while lightly shaking me, "dinner's ready."

My eyes open slowly, adjusting to my surroundings. In front of me is Lin, who I assume just got home and came to wake me. "What did Vanessa make for dinner, Lin?" I yawn, stretching my body to get the last bit of sleepiness out.

"Your favorite," Lin's smile gets wider, anticipating my reaction, "tacos."

"Really?!" I exclaim, ripping the blanket off of my body and jumping off of the bed.

"Yes, niña," Lin chuckles. "Now, go devour those tacos."

I walk out of my room as quick as I possibly can without running and go into the kitchen. On the table is dinner laid out. Before heading to the table, I go over to Vanessa and give her a hug. "Thank you, " I say quietly into her abdomen.

"It's no problem, novia," Vanessa hugs me back. After we let go, she pats my back and tells me to go sit down with Lin while she goes to get Sebastian.

I do as told and sit down in my usual spot, next to Sebastian and across from Lin. Vanessa comes in carrying Sebastian and puts him in his highchair before sitting next to Lin. We say a quick prayer and dig into dinner, just like a true family.

A week passes before we ever hear from Hunter on my acceptance. Lin bursts into my room, holding an envelope, and demands I come with him to the living room. I shake my head in amusement at his eagerness, following him to the living room where we meet Vanessa and Sebastian. Sebastian is sat on the floor, totally engaged in Chugginton. I sit on the couch next to Vanessa and Lin sits on the other side of me. Vanessa sets her laptop aside and gives us her full, undivided attention. "Do you want to open it or do you want me to?" Lin questions eagerly, gripping the envelope tightly.

"You can do it," I tell him, not wanting to read my rejection letter. Lin rips open the envelope and starts to quickly read the letter, his face getting happier word by word.

"Niña, you got in!" Lin exclaims, shaking the letter.

"I what?!" I respond, shocked at his statement.

"You got in, novia, isn't that great?!" Vanessa asks rhetorically, reaching in for a hug. Lin does the same.

"Yeah, I guess that is great," I say flatly, in such a shocked state that I can't process what I'm feeling. "When do I start?"

"Monday," Lin glances at the letter, looking to confirm his answer.

"That's in two days, I don't even have school supplies!" I freak out, my mind overthinking.

"Novia, love, calm down," Vanessa soothes my worries, "we'll go shopping today."

"Okay, okay," I take a few deep breaths.

"We'll go after lunch," Lin decides, a finality in his tone.

Those two days went by quicker than I could count to ten. Before I knew it, I was being awoken by my alarm clock at 6 in the morning. Way too early to be awake, in my opinion. I rub the sleep out of my eyes in an attempt to wake myself up a bit more, but the attempt is futile and I'm still as tired as I was before. I get out of bed and walk over to my closet where I pick out my outfit for today: a simple pair of skinny jeans, a white shirt with an alien embroidered on the right shoulder, and a red flannel to go over it. I go to the bathroom after getting dressed and complete my morning routine, which consists of washing my face, brushing my teeth, and using the toilet.   
  
I grab my backpack and a pair of checkered slip on vans on the way out of my room. I set the stuff in the living room and walk the short way to the kitchen. Lin and Vanessa are both there; Vanessa cooking up some delicious breakfast and Lin drinking his morning coffee. "Good morning," I announce my presence as I sit next to Lin at the counter. 

"Good morning, niña," Lin leans over and gives me a kiss on my forehead, "did you sleep well?"

"It was kind of hard to go to sleep, but once I did I had a pretty nice sleep," I rub my eyes to try and wake myself up again as I answer his question.

"Are you ready for your first day?" Vanessa asks, sliding me a plate of scrambled eggs and bacon.

"Nope, but it doesn't really matter anyway," I mumbled towards the end, a sour look on my face, my head resting on one of my hands.

"Watch the attitude, please, niña," Lin scolds lightly, beginning to eat his breakfast.

"Sorry," I apologize, taking my first bite.

We eat in silence for the rest of breakfast, the occasional sound coming from Sebastian. When I finish eating, I put rinse my plate and put it in the sink before heading back to my room. I put on some mascara and eyeliner before looking around to see if I forgot anything. After a quick look around, I decide I haven't forgotten anything and I head back to the living room where Lin and Vanessa are waiting to take me to school. I'm slipping on my shoes when Lin announces that we'll be taking the subway.

"What? Why?" I question, "We have a car."

"Yes, niña, we do," Lin answers, "but we aren't always going to be able to take you to school, so you need to learn what train to take to get to school."

"Oh, okay," I give in, deciding the fight isn't worth it. 

We head out the door, Lin holding Sebastian, and ride the elevator down to the lobby. We exit the building entirely and find the nearest subway station, which is conveniently right by our complex. Lin hands me a metro card and tells me that it is completely mine and to keep it safe. We all swipe our cards and find the train we need to catch. I quickly write it down in the notes on my phone because I know that by the end of the day I will forget. We arrive about a block from my school fifteen minutes later. We walk the rest of the way there and get there twenty minutes before class starts. 

"Would you like for us to go in with you, novia?" Vanessa asks kindly.

"Yes, please," I answer her, gripping my backpack so tightly my knuckles start to turn white. As much as I hated to admit it, I desperately needed someone to be with me. We walk inside the school and Lin directs us straight to the office, where we see the nice secretary, Mrs. Whiteberry, from when I took my entrance exam.

"Hello, Mrs. Whiteberry," Lin greets her as we walk up to her desk, "we're here for Jadyn's schedule and ID card."

"Oh, hello Lin," Mrs. Whiteberry greets without looking up. When she looks up, she greets Vanessa and me, and coos at Sebastian for a second before she starts to look for my schedule and ID. It only takes her a few minutes to gather everything around, but when she hands it all to me, I get a whole load of stuff. Along with my schedule and ID card, I also got a student handbook and a lock for my locker with a combination for it. Lin and Vanessa chat with Mrs. Whiteberry for a little while I take some time to absorb my schedule.

First Hour - English 9 with Mr. Mozes

Second Hour - Science with Mr. Pinkerton

Third Hour - Algebra 1 with Mrs. Moore

Lunch

Fourth Hour - ASL with Mr. Ling

Fifth Hour - Social Studies with Mrs. Chapnick

Sixth Hour - PE with Mrs. Fox

Seventh Hour - Choir with Mr. Batson

I didn't hate my schedule. I mean, I do get to end the day with what I believe will be my favorite class. _Maybe this won't be so bad._


	7. Chapter Seven

Boy, was I wrong about this new school not being bad. First five minutes in the hallway after finding my locker and putting my things in it, I saw someone get detention for eating. Detention for eating in the hallway seems kind of cruel in my personal opinion. Seeing that made me decide to actually read the student handbook, maybe. 

With that in mind, I shoved all of the stuff I do not currently need into my locker and keep my English stuff in my backpack. Turning around, I immediately bump into someone and fall down. Looking up, I take in the features of his face; shimmering emerald green eyes, dusty blond hair, a strong jawline. He offers his hand towards me, a smirk on his face, "I guess you could say you fell for me."

"Smooth," I nod as I accept his help, "what's your name?"

"Christopher, everyone calls me Chris," he offers a bright smile, pulling me up off of the floor.

"I'm Jadyn, but most call me Jay," I offer up my name, brushing my pants off after having stood up. "Thanks for the help, Chris."

"Oh, it's no problem," Chris replies, "are you new here?"

"Is it that obvious?" I chuckle nervously, lightly scratching my head.

"Well, yeah, I've never seen you around here before, so," Chris trails off awkwardly, somehow effectively calming me down. "What's your first class?"

"Uh, let me check," I pull out my schedule to take a look, "English with Mr. Mozes."

"Really? That's where I'm headed, I'll take you there," Chris offers, a small smile etched onto his face. With that, he leads me in the direction of our English classroom. The teacher allowed me to sit next to Chris, considering I already knew him. However, the class was incredibly boring. Mr. Mozes droned on and on about conjunctions and MLA formatting papers. The one thing that kept me from walking out was honestly Chris because we were whispering to each other the entire class period. After class was over, Chris kindly walked me to my next class even though he did not have this class with me.

I timidly walk up to my science teacher's desk, "Uh, Mr. Pinkerton?"

"Yes?" He answers without ever looking up from his computer screen.

"Uhm, hi, I'm Jadyn, I'm uh new here, I was wondering where I sit?" I stumble through my question, my heart rate abnormally high.

He finally looks up from his computer screen, his almost obnoxious typing finally ceased, "Oh! Hello there! I'm Mr. Pinkerton, your applied science teacher! You can sit right over there by Hannah, Hannah raise your hand please."

I gaze around the classroom, looking out for this Hannah person I was supposed to sit beside at a lab table. I quickly spot this blonde haired, brown eyed girl in the back of the class. I walked over to the table quickly, setting my stuff down in my spot and introducing myself.

"I'm Hannah as you already know," Hannah introduces herself even though she didn't need to, organizing the stuff on her desk. "If you don't mind me asking, uh why are you just now coming to school here?"

"Oh, uh, well, I'm in the foster system and I was just moved to a new foster home," I start to explain to her, "and my school was too far away for me to continue to go to, so I came here instead. My old foster home is actually where I got my broken arm, haha."

"Oh my, I am so sorry, I shouldn't have even asked," Hannah spits out apologies like there's no tomorrow.

"Hannah, _Hannah_ ," I put emphasis on her name the second time so that she would stop and listen to me, reaching an arm out to touch her shoulder, hoping to calm her down, "It is okay, I have had people ask me much, much worse. Your question is by far the most simple and the least offensive."

"So, what class do you have next? Make any friends yet?" Hannah quickly gets rid of the tension that was caused by her previous question.

"Uh, give me a sec," I narrow my eyes as I think, pulling out my schedule to glance at what was printed for 3rd hour, "uh, algebra one with Mrs. Moore, I guess."

"That's what I have next, I can take you there," Hannah informs me. "Now, make any friends yet? Besides me, of course."

"Oh, well, there was this one guy that I ran into before first period," I trail off, "his name's Chris."

"Oh, I know Chris," Her attitude turns sour, "you should stay away from him, he uses nearly every girl he talks to."

"Well, he seemed nice to me," I ignorantly state.

"That's exactly how he gets you, he's nice for awhile, then you'll start to date, you'll have sex and then he'll trow you out like you're some piece of garbage or a toy to just be used and then thrown away," Hannah spits out, irritation clear and a glazed over look in her eyes, almost as if she if having some kind of flashback.

"And how would you know?" I grit out, ready to defend my somewhat new friend even though I hardly know anything about him.

"Because I lived it," Hannah snaps at me before turning back to the front of the classroom, effectively ignoring me for the rest of the class. Well, there goes a friendship.

I go through the rest of the day without talking to anyone else, sitting alone at lunch and ignoring all of the weird looks thrown my way all day. I even make it through the day with absolutely no homework. When the school day is over, I head to my locker and collect all of my things out of there before making my way outside to sit on the steps, waiting for Vanessa. Vanessa would be picking me up today, although Lin wanted to come with her. He couldn't because he was busy finishing up some recordings for Moana, an upcoming Disney movie that was set to release in a few months time. I keep my head down, eyes focused on my phone in my hand, only shifting my gaze when I hear someone sit down next to me.

"Who ya waiting for?" The person, I now recognize as Chris, asks when he notices he has my attention.

"My... mom," I answer slowly, the word 'mom' feeling strange in my mouth. I didn't know if it was right to call Vanessa my mom because she isn't, but I also didn't want to call her my foster mom because I couldn't be bothered with all the questions that would arise with that answer.

"Do you mind if I wait with you?" Chris asks for permission, "I'm also waiting for my mom."

"No, I don't mind," I give him an answer. We sit there and talk for a good ten minutes before I see Vanessa pull up in front of the school. Before going to the car, I say goodbye to Chris and we swap numbers. When I get inside the car, I quickly buckle up and Vanessa drives off toward our apartment building in Washington Heights.

"So, how was your first day?" Vanessa starts interrogating after I get myself situated in the car, my bag sitting at mu feet.

"Like any other first day," I answer her as politely as I could, "but, the school is a bit weird. I saw someone get detention for eating in the hallway today and I thought that was a bit ridiculous."

"It was the exact same way when Lin and I went there," Vanessa laughs at my disgust for that insane rule.

"Really?" I look at her with a shock expression on my face. "Looks like not much has changed since then, I guess."

"Yeah, they are very strict with their rules, no matter how insane they may seem," Vanessa states as she pulls into the parking lot we have reserved for our apartment. "Got any homework?"

"Nope," I tell her, opening my car door once we are parked, grabbing my backpack and getting out, "new kid isn't caught up with what everyone is learning, so new kid doesn't get homework until new kid catches up with said work."

We head up to the apartment in nearly complete silence, the only sound being the rustling of our clothes and our footsteps on the floor. When we get inside, I immediately slip off my shoes, putting them on the shoe rack, and go to my bedroom to drop off my school stuff where it is supposed to go. Vanessa goes to her home office, where she is working on a few of her fancy lawyer cases from home instead of at the law firm she works at. After putting my stuff away, I go out to the living room where I have free rein on the TV for the time being because Sebastian is currently at daycare and Lin is at some Disney meeting for Moana. I got through one whole episode of _Supernatural_ before the show was interrupted by Lin opening the from door and loudly exclaiming his arrival home. He makes his way to the living room after getting his shoes off and putting his bag up, Sebastian in his arms. He sets Sebastian down and sits next to me on the couch, throwing his arm around my shoulders in some kind of hug. Sebastian runs off to get some of his toys, not finding any interest in anything in the living room. "How was your first day of school, niña?" Lin asks in some kind of greeting.

"It was just like any other first day of school," I inform him, allowing myself to relax into his embrace. I'm slowly taking notice that Lin and Vanessa are becoming huge parental figures in my life even though I haven't been in their care for a long time and it's going to tear me to pieces when I am ripped from their loving home.

"Did you make any friends? Get a boyfriend? Please say no to that one, I can't handle that yet," Lin babbles on, not giving me a chance to answer his questions.

"Lin, stop, give me a chance to answer," I laugh at his eagerness, "I made a friend, his name is Chris, and no, I did not get a boyfriend."

"Alright, alright," Lin recedes in his interrogation, "but if this Chris fella hurts you in any way, I will not hesitate to kick some kid ass, and that goes for any and all friends you make."

"Okay," I giggle at Lin's overprotective nature. I actually really love when he gets protective over me; it shows me he cares enough to protect me and I've never really had anyone in my life that would do that. "Hey, when do I get my cast off?"

"Uh," Lin trails off, thinking deeply for a second before giving me an answer, "in about another week, I believe."

"Good, I can't wait," I respond to this new found information.

"Alright, well, niña, my parents are coming to visit us this weekend and I really want you to meet them," Lin notifies me beforehand, "so, please do not make any plans for this weekend, okay?"

"Alright, I can do that," I give Lin my word.

I spend the rest of the night with my amazing foster family. We talk, we laugh, we even play games as a family even though Sebastian isn't exactly old enough to understand how to play. I can't believe I am meeting Lin's parents. I never met any of my other foster parents' parents; this feels like the next step to becoming an actual family. _Does this mean they want to keep me? Or are they just trying to make this feel more like a home while I'm living here rather than just a house I am living in? I really hope that it is the latter. Please, I beg, make this permanent. I don't think I can ever leave the most wonderful family I have ever had._


	8. Chapter Eight

The week goes by really quick. I didn't make any new friends and I never made up with Hannah, which kind of upsets me because she really would've made a good friend. I'm still friends with Chris, despite Hannah's warning. In some other news, Vanessa found me a therapist and my first appointment is tomorrow. I am extremely nervous, but I have a lot of hope that it will help. I also get my cast off after my therapy appointment, so it'll finally be nice to have complete movement of my wrist again. I have also gotten really comfortable here in the Miranda's care. It scares me how attached I am getting to this wonderful family, especially with the knowledge that I could be ripped from their grasp at a moments notice. I've gotten so comfortable with them that I have started associating them in my head as my parents, like I have started calling Vanessa and Lin mom and dad in my head and it terrifies me. _Would they be fine with me calling them that? Today has me as such a nervous wreck_.

Lin's parents will be here in roughly half an hour. I'm extremely anxious to meet them. _What happens if they hate me? What do I call them?_ I have so many questions that are gonna go unanswered until they get here. 

I take a deep breath, trying my best to push the nasty thoughts away. Looking at the clock, I notice it is 10 A.M. and I still need to get dressed. I had my outfit picked out the night before so that I didn't stress over it today. It's just a simple black long sleeve top, a camouflage overall dress, a pair of black tights to keep my legs warm in this gradually getting colder weather, and some black low top Converse. I quickly wash my face and swipe some mascara across my eyelashes, not caring much about any makeup. 

Before leaving my room, I look into the mirror, silently giving myself a little pep talk. _You've got this. You'll be okay_. With one last deep breath, I walk out of my bedroom and down the hallway leading into our living room. Vanessa is in the kitchen, washing the dishes from when we had breakfast even though dishes were usually my job, and Lin is in the living room, sitting next to Sebastian on the couch, who is contentedly watching _Chuggington_ on the TV. "Hey niña, you excited?" Lin questions as he beckons me over to him upon noticing me walking into the room. 

"More nervous than anything, if I'm being honest," I answer, stalking over to the couch, sitting beside him, and leaning on to him. He brings his arm around my shoulders and brings me closer to him, my head now resting on his chest. 

"Why is that, niña?" Lin asks, looking down at me, a certain fondness that I couldn't place in his eyes.

"What if they hate me, Da- Lin?" I slip up, my eyes widening at the fact that I almost called him dad. I stare at Lin, trying to see if there is any type of reaction to the slip, and hoping he didn't even notice the slip up at all. His face shows absolutely no reaction whatsoever and for once, I curse the fact that he is a very good actor.

"Oh, niña, my parents could never have the ability to hate _anyone_ , let alone one of their precious little grandbabies," Lin reassures me, giving me a tight squeeze as he continues, "and if you wish to call me dad, then go ahead. I would be honored to be your father, niña."

"Are you serious?" I reply, tears collecting in my eyes. They never fall, luckily for me because I certainly do **_not_** want my mascara to run.

"Of course I am, niña," Li- Dad confirms, the fond look still in his eyes, giving me another tight squeeze, "and Vanessa would love it if you would call her mom."

"Thank you so much, L- Dad, for everything," I smile a genuine smile, something I haven't done in a long time, up at him, wrapping my arms around the middle of his torso in order to give him a proper hug. He looks down at me from this new positions, a huge smile on his face upon hearing me call him dad, and leans down to give my forehead a loving kiss. I hear the click of a camera and I turn my head around, being met with Van- Mom with her phone out, taking a picture of me and Dad. 

"Send that to me, please V," Dad requests, giving me a last squeeze before we both decide to let go. Va- Mom sends the picture to Dad as a knock sounds at the door. Dad gets up to answer it, revealing his parents on the other side.

"Lin-Manuel, so good to see you again," I hear a Puerto Rican accent ring throughout the entry way.

"Good to see you too, Ma, Pa," I hear Dad say, probably greeting them with a hug. Then I hear foot steps and suddenly, I am face to face with my foster grandparents. "Ma, Pa, this is Jadyn, your new granddaughter."

"Hi..." I awkwardly trail off my greeting, unsure as to what I should call them. Do I call them grandma and grandpa? Do I address them by their names? What even _are_ their names? Do I call them ma'am and sir? This is all so overwhelming.

"Oh, nieta, you can just call us Abuelo and Abuela," Lin's dad informs me, pointing to himself as he says abuelo and pointing to Lin's mom as he says abuela, a kind smile never leaving his face. 

"Okay... Abuelo," I respond, giving them a shy smile. They instantly grin and walk over to embrace me in a huge, warm hug. The way I feel in this hug is like no wrong could ever come to me again. Like all I ever have to do is hug them and all will feel right in the world again. I've never really felt like that before. 

"Niña, may I see your phone, please?" Dad asked once Abuelo and Abuela released me from their grasps.

"Uh, why?" I question, not even reaching for my phone.

"We are gonna have a phone free afternoon, so me, you, and Mom are all putting our phones up, okay?" Dad explains, holding his hand out for me to place my phone in it. I reach for my phone, putting it in his outstretched hand before sitting on the couch again in between Abuelo and Abuela.

"So, nieta, have you started any after school activities yet? Or found any that you think you might enjoy?" Abuela starts off a nice conversation as Dad leaves to go put all of our phones up. 

"I haven't really thought much about it, but I played soccer when I was younger and in one of the better foster homes," I answer her, "I remember enjoying it, so I might look into joining the soccer team and I've always loved performing, so I'll have to look into that too."

"All really good activities, nieta," Abuelo compliments. "Have you thought about what you want to do after graduating school?"

"No, not really, but I am only almost fourteen, so I have some time to figure it out," I respond, "I really enjoy performing, but I also enjoy forensic science." 

"All very good choices," Abuelo compliments.

Abuelo and Abuela are here for a few more hours getting to know me, catching up with Mom and Dad, and playing with Sebastian. It was nice having a phone free afternoon, eliminating the stress of social media and friends. It was nice, almost like we were the perfect family. We ended the time with my newfound grandparents by having dinner, an incredibly delicious pot of spaghetti thanks to Mom, who had cooked it. I want to stay here forever, but the thought that I could be torn out of here at any moment keeps me on edge and not wanting to get super close. _Too late for that_ , I thought.

Lin's parents, my now grandparents I guess, left at 5 P.M., claiming they had somewhere to be. It was kind of sad to see them go, even though I could probably guarantee on seeing them again. After they left, Mom retrieved our phones from where Dad had put them, passed them to the correct individual, and then went to her office to work on the case that she currently has at work. Dad took his phone from Mom, gave me and Sebastian kisses on the foreheads, and told me he would be in his office working on some top secret Disney stuff, instructing me to keep an eye on Sebastian and knock before entering his office if I need him.

I turn the TV back on for Sebastian to watch while I mess around on my phone. Sebastian is entertained watching _Chuggington_ for an hour before he starts to get restless, deciding to annoy me instead of watch his favorite show. He continuously pokes me in random places and I ignore it for a few minutes before it starts getting irritating. "Seb, stop please," I request of the two year old. He stops for approximately two minutes and then starts annoying me again.

Agitated, I slam my phone down on the couch, pushing him away from me, angrily exclaiming, "Seb, I told you to stop!"

He falls on the floor, his head hitting the floor hard, and starts crying loudly. Immediately, my eyes widen, and I get down on the floor, trying my best to comfort him and get him to stop crying before Mom and Dad hear him. My attempt is futile as Mom and Dad run out of their respective offices, coming to see what all the commotion is about. 

"What happened?" Dad demands as he and Mom stalk over to Sebastian to pick him up and make him feel better.

"Oh, uh, Seb fell off the couch and hit his head," I offer a lie, trying a shit attempt to get myself out of trouble.

"Is that what happened, Sebby?" Mom asks Sebastian as she bounces him in her arms in an effort to get him to stop crying. Sebastian shakes his little head, his tears starting to slow down. "What happened then?"

"Sissy push me and I fall and hit head," Sebastian says in his little broken two year old English, pointing at me and then the floor as he explains. _I really should've just told the truth, they're not gonna want to keep me now._

"Jadyn, did you push Sebastian?" Dad turns his gaze to me, a stern look on his face and his arms crossed. 

"Yes," I reply ashamedly, keeping my eyes downcast in order to not see the disappointment and anger clouding their eyes, "but, he was annoying me!"

"It does not matter, Jadyn Isla!" Dad exclaims, surprised I would even attempt at an excuse. "You are eleven years older than your little brother, you are a lot stronger than him and you know that."

"But I asked him to stop and he wouldn't!" I protest, raising my voice.

"Do not raise your voice at me, young lady!" Dad raises his voice a little. "That still doesn't matter, you could have seriously hurt him by pushing him."

"I know, I'm so sorry!" I start to cry, a mix of guilt and fear that they may go back on their word and hurt me.

"Hey, hey, why are you crying?" Dad softens his voice, his face relaxing into a concerned look as he walks towards me. I flinch back out of instinct.

"I'm sorry, just please don't hurt me!" I exclaim, curling my knees up to my chest, trying to make myself look small.

"Niña, look at me, please," Dad requests, sitting down next to me on the couch. I hesitantly look up at him, my tears starting to slow down. He looks deeply into my eyes as he starts speaking again, "We told you before that we would never ever hurt you and we plan to stick by that forever, understand?"

"Yes," I answer Dad, being reassured and comforted by the sincerity in his eyes.

"Good," Dad says before he fixes his face back into a stern expression. "Now, you know you shouldn't push your brother, but you still did, so I think being grounded for a week with no electronics will suffice as a punishment."

"Okay," I accept my punishment gracefully, handing my phone over to Dad when he holds his hand out for it. "I'm really sorry, Mom and Dad."

"I know, niña, it's alright," Dad dismisses. "Now, go say sorry to your brother."

I push myself up off the couch, walking to where Mom is standing holding Sebastian on her hip. "Sebby, I'm sorry I pushed you," I offer an apology, "I didn't mean to hurt you.

"It otay, sissy, I fowgive you," Seb has Mom put him down and comes to give me a hug around my legs, "I sowwy fow an oi in (annoying) you."

"It's okay, Seb," I give him my forgiveness as I bend down to hug him back.

The clock now reads 8 P.M., which happens to be bedtime for Sebastian, which in turn means it is time for me to finish up the last of my chores like the dishes, and get ready for bed. I have another three hours before it is time for me to be in bed, considering it is currently Saturday. However, my therapy appointment is pretty early in the morning, so I am going to try to get everything I need done in about two hours so that I can be in bed a bit earlier. 

Mom and Dad take Sebastian to his bedroom to get him into some pajamas and into bed while I head to the kitchen to see what dishes need to be done. All that is in the sink are the plates and silverware that were used when we ate dinner, so I quickly wash those, clean off the counters, and sweep the floor. After sweeping, I was done with the last bit of my chores, so I go to my room. I change into a pair of fluffy Harry Potter pajama pants and an oversized shirt before I check my bag for any homework. Unsurprisingly, I do not find any homework because most of my teachers think that I am not caught up with the material being taught. With that, I check the clock for the time once again, finding that it is now 9 P.M. I grab a book from my bookshelf, which happens to be _Looking For Alaska_ by John Green, and waltz over to my bed where I sit and read for the next hour, or at least what I thought was an hour. 

I was knocked out of my trance that the book had brought me into when Dad knocked on my door and popped his head in. "Hey niña, it's about time you get to bed," Dad informs me, "it's eleven o'clock and you have your therapy appointment in the morning."

"Okay, Dad," I acknowledge him, setting my book aside on my bedside table, and getting up to give him a hug goodnight and to tell Mom goodnight. 

Once in my bed again, I am thrown into a dreamless sleep, all worries about tomorrow being tossed aside. 


End file.
